


Road to nowhere

by NYWCgirl



Category: Chuck (TV), White Collar
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Kidnapping, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 00:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11702778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: Neal attempted to kill Peter, but who wants Peter dead? And who are those other agents who are in Hughes office?





	Road to nowhere

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sandy79](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=sandy79).



> I wrote this story as a sequel to ‘The lone gun man.’ And it fills the ‘Drugged’ square on my H/C Bingo card.  
> Special thanks to Sandy79, who gave me the idea for the story.

Peter sighs, it is clear the hospital is backed up in patient transport and it takes longer than expected to find Neal a bed in the ward. The nurse in charge explained that they are keeping a close eye on Neal and they would transfer his as soon as a bed came available. That was an hour ago. Neal remains out of it so Peter decides to get a cup of coffee. He informs the ER nurse of his little trip and she smiles telling him he can better go outside. She recommends a good coffee place located in the direct vicinity of the hospital.

When Peter takes the sip of the coffee he just bought and a bite from the freshly made sandwich, he reminds himself to thank the nurse, as they are delicious. He walks back to Neal´s cubicle and finds it empty. In itself this would be perfectly understandable since they were waiting to be transferred to a ward, but what alarms Peter is the IV that is dangling from its stand. It is obvious that is pulled out in a hurry. Peter quickly makes his way back to the nurses’ station and asks if they have seen Neal.

A nurse immediately follows Peter back to Neal´s room and when she sees the IV, she takes her dect telephone and calls security. She gives a description of their missing patient and security promises to check the camera feeds of all exits.

Peter calls June to tell her to be on the lookout for Neal. Next is El, he explains her Neal has left the hospital and asks her to inform Mozzie. He ends the call when a security guard walks up to him.

‘Special agent Burke?’

‘Yes, did you find him?’

‘No, but I can show you the feed that we have. He didn´t leave by himself. He was abducted.’

Peter knew it, he shouldn´t have left Neal alone. But there is no time to think of what-if scenarios, he needs to find Neal.

‘Show me.’

The guard logs into the computer at the nurses’ desk and scrolls to the recorded feed. Peter can see Neal is being wheeled out of the room in a wheel chair. He seems to be somewhat conscious, although barely since his head keeps listing forward. It is obvious he tries to keep it up but fails. The two men that are with him, swiftly leave the ER with him. Another camera picks them up again, when they leave the hospital, but they leave the camera range, before they can see what car was used.

Peter immediately calls his team and explains what happened and to put a BOLO out on Neal and the two men. He asks the security guard to give him a copy of the feeds. Diana tells him she is sending   ERT to the hospital.

Once the teams are working, there is no need for Peter to stay at the hospital and he drives back to the office.

 

* *  *

 

Neal wakes because someone enters the room. Probably Peter, Neal is still trying to get his bearing when he feels two people stand next to his bed, and the vibe he is getting, is not a positive one. He does his best to open his eyes and sees two men studying him in surprise. One of them pushes his hand over Neal´s mouth, effectively gagging him. He wants to struggle but something is injected in his IV, because he feels it burning through the vein in his arm, when it reaches his brain, everything goes woozy and Neal closes his eyes against the dizzy spell. He swallows thickly and can feel the hand retract, the IV is pulled from his arm, and he is lifted into something, no, not something, a wheelchair. He wants to shout, cry out for help, but his mouth seems disconnected from his brain. He tries to lift his head, but it is so heavy.

He can feel himself being wheeled through what seems like endless corridors and then suddenly they are outside. He is wheeled towards a dark SUV. They lift him in the backseat and place him on the backseat, a blanket is placed over him and he realizes he will appear to be sleeping on the back seat to anyone looking in the back.

Again, he tries to move, but it is like his brain is completely disconnected from his body and it just doesn´t do what he wants.

The car drives away and the sounds of the engine is so monotone, Neal dozes off.

 

* *  *

 

Peter arrives on the twenty first floor and can see that Hughes has visitors. The moment Hughes sees him, he gives him the finger point and Peter walks over to his office.

‘This is special agent Peter Burke, he is Neal Caffrey´s handler.’ Hughes introduces him. Peter nods to the visitors. ‘Peter, these are agents Sarah Walker and Chuck Bartowski, they are looking for an agent of theirs. He is presumed dead for some time now. His name is Bryce Larkin.’

‘With all due respect sir, but I am looking for Neal, he has been abducted from the hospital, he was drugged, and…’

‘Peter, this is the agent they are looking for.’ Hughes hands Peter a personnel folder. He opens it and stares in the face of Neal. Although, the hair is different, longer, he is younger in the picture, more youthful. But what is completely different from Neal is the cold look in his eyes.

‘This can´t be right. Neal is not dead.’

‘Bryce Larkin died in front of me, he was my friend. He was shot and bled out internally.’ The man introduced as Chuck Bartowski explains to Peter.

‘We thought he was dead, until we saw the BOLO that was spread around noon.’

‘Neal is not an agent, he…’

‘I´m sorry Peter, but the evidence begs to differ. Agent Larkin was recruited straight out of Stanford.’ Hughes interrupts.

‘We were told Neal tried to kill you this morning?’

Peter briefs the agents what happened that morning, he is still not convinced Neal is this Bryce Larkin. But the pictures don´t lie. Could it be? Neal is an expert shot, highly intelligent. Could Neal Caffrey be his greatest con? But what would be the purpose? Maybe he has a twin?

‘Peter, you and Elizabeth will go into protective custody. Neal tried to kill you, we don´t know what is behind it or if he will try again. Diana and Jones are already on their way to get Elizabeth. They will escort her to the safe house. You will be escorted as well by a team.’

‘Reese, I am fine, just...’

‘No, Peter, there are too many unknowns in this case.’

 

* *  *

 

The second time Neal wakes, he is lying on something in a white room. Wait, he has been here before, hasn´t he? It looks familiar. But then again, why would he have ever been in this white room? But still, he has a feeling that he has been here before.

He tries to lift his head, but he can´t bring up the strength. He lets his eyes wonder and sees an IV stand in the corner of his eye. That probably explains the lack of strength. He needs to get out of here. If it is one thing he is good in, it is escaping.

He concentrates on the restraints, but quickly realizes that whoever is keeping him here is aware of his ability to get out of cuffs, these are medical restraints and without any tools, it will be impossible to get these off.

He can hear the hum of the IV pump and he realizes that something is administered. He had hoped that someone would come into the room, but they must be wary of him.

At first nothing seems to happen and he doesn´t feel any different but then the world slightly seems to change and Neal stares in fascination at all the colors in the room. He smiles, they are so pretty, he would like to draw them.

 

* *  *

 

In the observation room, two men are studying Neal, they can see by his vitals that he is under the influence of the drugs they just administered.

‘Do you think, this will work?’

‘It has to, the last attempt didn´t, that is why I had him brought back. We can´t let him try again since his handler will probably have gone underground. But it should work if we have more time. We couldn´t predict that he would have an allergic reaction to the scopolamine.’

The other man nods.

‘Yeah, you want him to go through the regular program, or should I take program ‘Better’?’

The scientist thinks for a moment.

‘Do you have his bloodwork results?’

‘I have them here.’

After studying the results, he nods, ‘Put him on program ‘Better’, he should be able to withstand it.’

 

* *  *

 

‘Suit!’

Peters starts.

‘Jezus Mozzie, do you want to finish the job Neal started?’

‘So it is true?’

‘That Neal tried to kill me? Yes, sadly, yes, he did try, but he was under the influence of Scopolamine.’

Mozzie nods.

‘And where is he know?’

‘Like I said before, we don´t know.’

‘Well, if I can find you, so can Neal.’

‘Yeah, let´s talk about that, how did you find me?’

‘Oh please, like you feds can really hide a person.’ Mozzie snorts.

‘My wife told you?’ Peter gives Mozzie an accusing look.

Mozzie quickly nods.

‘So what are you doing to find Neal?’

‘Well, all the alphabet agencies are looking for him. There isn´t much more that we can do, not at the moment.’

Peter can see by the look on Mozzie´s face that he isn´t impressed.

‘They have taken me of the case Mozzie, he tried to kill me. I can´t leave El alone, what if he comes after her. He isn´t himself. I don´t know what they did to him, but it messed with his brain. The only reason it didn´t work this morning is because Neal had an allergic reaction to the Scopolamine they drugged him with.’

‘Neal wouldn´t hurt El or you if he could help it.’ Mozzie states.

‘I know, but…what if he can´t help it?’

Peter studies Mozzie. The man looks so unlike the Mozzie he knows. There are no nervous ticks, Peter can´t quite put his finger on it, but something is different.

‘What do you know about Neal´s past?’ Peter asks slowly, ‘you know more than you let on.’

Mozzie sighs.

‘I will tell you because it is in Neal´s best interest.’

Peter waits for Mozzie to continue, he can tell it is taking Mozzie some time to get over his barriers.

‘I am Neal´s handler.’ Mozzie blurts out.

‘What?’

‘What did you think suit, that conmen really can do what we do? Come on, be a bit realistic, you really thought we have access to all that sort of info, can by-pass security systems like it is child´s play? You really believed that Neal masters all those media. He likes to draw and paint, but sculpt, make gems? Really? Wow, we must have done a better job than we thought.’

‘But… Why?’

‘Neal is a highly trained, valuable agent. His enemies have tried several times to kill him and succeeded, I might aid. But Neal, or better Bryce always managed to pull through. We will also do so this time.’

‘You sound very confident.’

‘I am.’ Mozzie admits easily.

Peter studies Mozzie; Who could have guested that this strange paranoid creature would be an active operative. But now that he thinks about it. Mozzie also didn´t blink twice when he gave the contract out on Keller, he is more ruthless than Peter would give him credit for. For one thing, he is a brilliant actor.

‘So what do we do now?’

‘I will listen around, see if I can track Neal down. Nothing or nobody vanishes from the face of the Earth. Make sure Elizabeth is safe and I will be in contact.’

 

* *  *

 

 

Neal is shaking. He feels nauseated, ill, cold, weak. We would like to curl into a ball, but the restraints prevent him from moving around too much. He can´t reach the IV. He still hasn´t seen anyone in his room, not even to change out the IV´s. So he guesses that they wait until he is passed out, to do so.

He still is figuring out what they want. Nobody has said anything so he doesn´t know. He can only guess that they are getting him hooked on whatever is in the IV, because he really feels lousy at the moment. He needs to think, he needs to get out of here. But the more he tries to focus, the more his brain starts to wander off.

His heart skips a beat when he hears the IV pump pushing a new dose. He struggles, but soon, his body and mind give into the drugs.

 

* *  *

 

After another two days, Peter gives up and drives to the office. He has made sure Elizabeth is safe and he needs to find Neal. Mozzie has come by with regular updates, but they still have no clue where Neal can be. According to Chuck, they are probably outside the States, but Mozzie is not so sure, and Peter trusts Mozzie more than some guy who looks like he works in some convenience store.

Mozzie explained that Peter should look into his own ranks to see who would want to kill him and has enough influence to use Neal for it. He has been thinking about it, there wasn´t much else to do in the safe house, and it makes him paranoid. He has been through all his files, thinking of men and women he put away, but there isn´t really anybody he can think of he would go through all this trouble. Or would have the means to do it. But ever since Mozzie told him about a mole in the FBI, he can´t stop thinking about it.

In the old days he would think it was one of Mozzie´s conspiracy theories, but now that he knows Mozzie is a highly trained agent like him, he sees his words in a different light.

He trusts his team and they are not senior enough to pull something like this off. Hughes… No, his gut tells him Hughes can be trusted.

When he arrives in his office, he is immediately called into Hughes office. Both men update each other, before Peter goes to his own office and starts with his emails. A couple of meetings later, Peter is ready to go home. Normally he would stay late and work, but with El still in protective custody, he wants to go back to her. Just as he is about to leave, Diana and Jones walk in.

‘Can you close the door please?’

Jones looks a bit surprised, but does it anyway.

‘So, what did you find out?’

‘Well, we found camera feed from some shops in the area where Neal was attacked.’

‘He was attacked?’

‘Maybe attacked is a too strong word, where he was dozed.’

‘We have that on tape?’

‘Yes, we can see a couple passing Neal and the moment they pass, the woman blows something in his face. Within a couple of steps, Neal is out and they pull him in a car that drives up. It seems highly organized to me.’

‘That is what I am afraid of. Good work.’

‘We need to find out…’

‘Look guys, you did great work, but let´s call it a night. We need our rest and it is already late. So go home, relax, and we will start fresh in the morning. I really appreciate this, but I want to go back to Elizabeth and make sure she is alright.’

Diana and Jones nod and leave. Peter can see them closing off their computers and leave the floor. He also shuts everything down and takes his coat and briefcase, before going to the underground parking.

 

* *  *

 

The moment Peter walks up to his car and stands next to it in the almost empty garage, he realizes someone was waiting for him. Damn him for assuming he was safe in the FBI-building.

‘Hello Peter.’

‘Neal? What are you doing here?’

Neal just stares blankly at Peter. Peter does his best to see if there is an escape route, but leave it up to a highly trained operative like Neal, to know where to ambush his victim. There is no way out, or not that Peter can see.

‘You know why I am here, Peter.’

Peter nods, what is there to say?

‘I just want to know why.’

‘I don´t know. I don´t want to do this, but I can´t fight it, it…’

Peter can see the change in Neal´s eyes, when whatever they did to him, takes over. Neal raises the gun and Peter can see his finger tightening around the trigger. He knows there is nothing he can do to prevent the inevitable.

But for a split second, Neal´s hand is kicked to the side. Neal immediately goes into fight mode and confronts his attacker. It takes a moment for Peter to realize it is Mozzie who saved his life. And how awkward Mozzie normally is around physical activities, he now takes Neal on. Peter immediately comes into action and kicks away the gun, before helping Mozzie. Neal is a skilled martial artist but no match against two highly motivated operatives. Within minutes they have Neal in a headlock.

‘Hold onto him Peter, I will get something to sedate him.’

Peter has to hang on with all his strength, but Mozzie is quick and soon, Neal slumps in Peter´s hold.

Mozzie already called an extraction team and within minutes they are off. When they arrive at the normal looking company, the gate is opened and they drive inside. Once inside, it turns out that it is clearly a CIA base. Neal is whisked away and Mozzie drags Peter inside the building. A medic meets them and he assesses their injures. Scrapes and bruises, but nothing serious.

‘How is Neal?’

‘They will let us know as soon as they know.’ Mozzie explains, ‘coffee?’

‘How did you know where we were?’

‘Please, suit. Are we back where we started? Please…’

Peter studies Mozzie, he looks just like the old Mozzie again, not like the superhero who fought Neal just an hour ago.’

‘Thanks. You saved my life.’

Mozzie gives him a small smile.

‘You are welcome.’

 

* *  *

 

Neal wakes realizing there are people in the room with him. He keeps his breathing even and listens if he can get a clue where he is. It doesn´t smell like a hospital and the bed is too comfortable to be in the last place he was kept. There is also not the lingering effects of drugs, so where is he?

He decides it is best just to face whatever situation head on, and he pries open his eyes, only to be greeted by a worried looking Peter and Mozzie.

‘Hi.’ He tries, but it is more like a whisper.

‘Here, have some water.’ Mozzie provides a glass with a straw.

Neal gratefully sips some water and tries again.

‘Where am I?’

‘You are at a secure location, you are safe.’

‘Are you guys safe?’

Peter can see Neal is getting anxious.

‘Yes we are, don´t worry about that.’

‘Good, that is good, I…’

Neal gasps.

‘What is wrong, Neal?’

Mozzie pushes the nurse call button. Even though they are not in a hospital, the facility is completely equipped like one. A doctor walks in.

‘What seems to be the matter?’

‘I don´t know, I… I don´t feel so good, I…’

Neal´s eyes roll back and he slumps back unconscious. The doctor immediately starts assessing Neal and calls out for a nurse. Two orderlies enter and the doctor tells them one of them what medicines to get and administer.

‘What is happening?’

‘He is going to be fine. It is just withdrawal from the drugs they gave him. But we will make sure he is comfortable.’

‘Is he addicted?’

‘We will have to see, but I am fairly convinced that we can counteract whatever they gave him. He is OK for the most part. I guess he was in a fight, because he has some bruising consistent with a fight.’

The doctor stops and examines the two men in front of him.

‘Well, I guess you know he was in a fight.’

Both Peter and Mozzie shrug their shoulders.

‘I want him to see a de-programmer, because we are convinced they tried to manipulate him. I advise to let him sleep. The drugs we just pushed will keep him out for a while. Maybe you can get something to eat or rest yourselves?’

When neither man moves, the doctor sighs and tells them he will have something send up to them.

Peter and Mozzie are not moving from Neal. First they need to know that he is OK and not a threat to them or their family. Then they need to find out who the mastermind behind this elaborate plan is.

 


End file.
